MMI prep course?

[teachdoc]

Has anyone had any experience with MMI prep courses? Would you recommend them?

(sorry if this has already been asked)

[DreamBig19]

Same question here! Would appreciate hearing some of your stories. 

[SweetNothing]

Same here! Looking forward to reading more on this thread!

[OwnerOfTheTARDIS]

I have no direct experience, but will give my 2 cents anyways since no one else has answered.

- a lot of MMI prep companies make wild promises. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

- MMI prep companies aren’t given any insider knowledge. Their knowledge only comes from familiarity with the system, which can be gained through this website and talking to others. The prep companies don’t have access to UBCs formula for scoring MMIs, they only make educated guesses on what makes a good candidate

- the only people I know who paid for a prep company had already paid for MCAT prep (and got great scores) and had great overall applications. They were the type of people who did ‘whatever it took’ to get in and probably would have gotten in without prep. This can artificially inflate prep companies statistics on how many of their students get in.

Overall, if you are an average speaker/interviewer, I think you can definitely prep on your own or with free prep groups that you can connect with through this forum. If you have public speaking anxiety or think you interview badly, a prep course may be worth it for you personally.

i think other posters have already written on this subject, probably with more detail than me so check out other people’s opinions before making a decision

[i8aSS]

I recently enrolled in one and I've had 2 sessions so far. Not only do I get an insight to my interview skills, but I also have a 1 on 1 coach to point out my mistakes-I doubt anyone except for family and close friends would be that attentive and focused when going over random ethics scenarios (at least in my case). I tried practicing with others from my school but I get the sense that they're holding back/not giving their 100% focus when I'm speaking. The down side for these MMI companies is that they are expensive ($100/session of 1 hr) but I think it's worth it in the long run. Each year you don't get in means loosing 1 year of a MD salary (~$250,000), so spending a few hundred dollars now is quite the investment IMO - but again, we're all in different financial/social situations so its different for each individual. Hope that helps : )

[SweetNothing]

13 hours ago, i8aSS said:

I recently enrolled in one and I've had 2 sessions so far. Not only do I get an insight to my interview skills, but I also have a 1 on 1 coach to point out my mistakes-I doubt anyone except for family and close friends would be that attentive and focused when going over random ethics scenarios (at least in my case). I tried practicing with others from my school but I get the sense that they're holding back/not giving their 100% focus when I'm speaking. The down side for these MMI companies is that they are expensive ($100/session of 1 hr) but I think it's worth it in the long run. Each year you don't get in means loosing 1 year of a MD salary (~$250,000), so spending a few hundred dollars now is quite the investment IMO - but again, we're all in different financial/social situations so its different for each individual. Hope that helps : )

Would you mind sharing the company that you are using?

[InstantRamen]

I feel like an MMI prep company would only give you the framework. If you already have an understanding of the MMI and how to answer questions, I personally don’t think it would be helpful. 

I took a prep course, at first. In hindsight, all the information is readily available online. I’ll be honest thiugh, having it all in one resource made it more convenient. I think if you have good friends, watch YouTube videos, etc  you’d get the same info.

A lot of my initial organization depended on the prep course, but once I got comfortable, I began to make my own organization. Not going to say which company I used, because I think every company is the same. 

[Vendar]

I agree with what has been said above. Each school has a different take on the MMI, some schools are more discussion based (where you talk to the interviewer) while others are more focused on acting/problem solving. There are some MMI books out there are as well and I feel that those would offer the same amount of knowledge like a course. Practice with friends or people who have gone through an MMI so you have a realistic view on things!